Partnership

On May 22，2024, Canon had a high-level meeting with the European Patent Office (EPO) to provide our feedback on EPO initiatives and to exchange opinions on a wide range of issues. The EPO delegation led by Steve Rowan (Vice-President, Patent Granting Process) included Razik Menidjel (Chief Operating Officer Operations), Roberta Romano-Götsch (Chief Sustainability Officer), Niclas Morey (Principal Director Customer Journey and Key Account Management) and other Principal Directors. The Canon delegation led by Hideki Sanatake (Head of the Corporate Intellectual Property and Legal Headquarters) consisted of 40 IP members from Canon Inc and five Group companies in Europe (Canon Europe, Canon Production Printing, Axis Communications, Milestone Systems and Canon Research Centre France).

In the high-level meeting, we at Canon conveyed our appreciation to the EPO for their initiatives (including significant improvements in timeliness, opportunities for the accelerated prosecution of European patent applications through the PACE programme, and high-quality prior art searches). In addition, we provided the EPO with analysis and case studies on formal objections (clarity, added matter) frequently issued in EPO examination, and addressed the implications of severe formal objections. The EPO and Canon committed to continuing discussions on these objections.

Following the high-level meeting, Canon participated in an interview with the EPO. In the interview, Hideki Sanatake praised EPO examiners for their high skill levels and deep technical understanding. He also touched on the “strictness” of the EPO's examination approach, emphasising the importance of striking the right balance between patent owners and third parties to ensure good inventions receive an appropriate breadth of protection. Furthermore, he mentioned the need for the EPO and users to co-operate on creating a more balanced and attractive IP ecosystem. The interview is posted on the EPO website（EPO meets with Canon | Epo.org）.

Canon will continue to engage in dialogue with the EPO so as to contribute to the creation of a more attractive European IP system.

On March 9, 2022, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and Canon exchanged views on intellectual property strategies and other topics. Kiyoshi Mori, JPO Commissioner, Fujio Mitarai, Chairman & CEO of Canon, and Kenichi Nagasawa, Group Executive of the Corporate Intellectual Property and Legal Headquarters of Canon, participated in the meeting.

JPO explained it's priority supporting measures for IP activities and management toward the creation of innovation. Canon explained how it is incorporating intellectual property strategies into corporate management.

Furthermore, views were actively exchanged on a wide range of intellectual property issues, such as the introduction of the non-disclosure system for patent, the international jurisdiction issues related to standard-essential patents, the enhancement of the global presence of the Japan Patent Office and the Intellectual Property High Court, the efforts toward intellectual property governance and the issues related to trademarks and shared patents.

On October 21, 2021 the EPO hosted a high-level meeting with Canon. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that the meeting had to be conducted virtually but a major benefit was to open up the meeting to a wider range of participants including staff and managers from Canon Inc. in Tokyo, Canon Europe in London, Canon Production Printing in Venlo and Axis Communications in Lund, Sweden, as well as EPO delegates from the Hague and Munich offices.

The Canon delegation was led by Kenichi Nagasawa, Group Executive of the Corporate Intellectual Property and Legal Headquarters. The EPO delegation was led by the EPO President Antonio Campinos, who reported on recent developments in the EPO. Presentations were made by the President and by Stephen Rowan, Vice-President Directorate-General Patent Granting Process, Nellie Simon, Vice-President Directorate-General Corporate Services, and Christoph Ernst, Vice-President Directorate-General Legal/International Affairs on the progress made in their respective areas too. Canon was reassured to hear how robust and adaptable the EPO had been against the challenging backdrop of the global pandemic.

Mr. Nagasawa presented Canon's business and IP strategies, Mr. Iketa presented Canon's filing strategy & technology and they gave Canon's high-level feedback and requests to the EPO, recognizing the EPO's significant progress in recent years in reducing pendency times of Canon's EP applications. Matthew Hitching, Canon Europe's head of IP, introduced “strictness” as a new major discussion theme between the EPO and Canon, noting what Canon perceives to be stricter approaches in the EPO compared to other IP5 offices in areas such as amendment practice, clarity, user-interface inventions, Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal and description amendments, as well as exploring what might be the causes of this strictness.

Through meetings with patent offices around the world, Canon contributes to improving the operation of the global intellectual property system.